


fourth times the charm

by cafe_au_late, Kuro_Ko, LinaLuthor, Sephirron



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst and Fluff, Dorks in Love, F/F, Modern AU, We just love Derdriu, edelethestance, eight hands, happy birthday Molls, no beta we die like Odessa, poly power
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:27:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26047996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cafe_au_late/pseuds/cafe_au_late, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kuro_Ko/pseuds/Kuro_Ko, https://archiveofourown.org/users/LinaLuthor/pseuds/LinaLuthor, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sephirron/pseuds/Sephirron
Summary: Byleth, Edelgard, Constance and Dorothea have been together since their days at Garreg Mach University. Their relationship growing and changing as the years went by, through their graduation and start in their respective careers, their dream home and, as some people said, a dream relationship.But when the world begins to pull each of them apart, they begin to pull away from one another. As they try to navigate the new changes that challenge their resolve and their love, a fateful night comes and draws them together once again - to face those issues and find a way to begin again.
Relationships: Dorothea Arnault/Edelgard von Hresvelg/Constance von Nuvelle/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 1
Kudos: 22





	fourth times the charm

**Author's Note:**

  * For [writingwithmolls](https://archiveofourown.org/users/writingwithmolls/gifts).



_“It is with great pleasure that Derdriu University offers you a position with our athletic staff as a general athletic trainer.”_

Byleth read that sentence a few times over to herself. She could hardly believe what she was reading. It seemed too good to be true. She had applied for the position a while back on a whim, thinking nothing of it. The person in HR that she had been corresponding with seemingly ghosted her after their third meeting turned interview anyway, so Byleth had just assumed that she hadn’t gotten the position and lost out to someone else.

But now, out of the blue, she had received this email, throwing her entire life out of sorts.

Fortunately, she was in her office at the moment. With nobody else around, she could let the email sit and stew for a little while. Moving to Derdriu would be a major change.. Hastily, Byleth turned off her laptop. She needed to think.

Her phone pinged with a text. 

_“I’m running a few minutes late. I’ll be at the cafe soon.”_

_Shoot._ Byleth had completely forgotten that she was supposed to meet up with someone, well, two someones. Scrambling, she changed out of the pair of comfy slippers that she liked to wear in her tiny office instead of actual shoes and into a pair of sandals. The lights were flicked off as she tossed her fanny pack over one shoulder- if she was late, they were going to kill her (especially because she didn’t tell them the other one was showing up).

Ah, they were definitely going to kill her.

* * *

“Hold on, hold on.” Hilda waved a hand at Byleth impatiently, cutting her off in the middle of the sentence. “Are you asking your current partners’ exes for permission to marry them?” 

They were in the middle of a little cafe near campus. Byleth worked as an assistant trainer at Garreg Mach University and frequented this little cafe quite often- enough that all the baristas knew her order by heart. One glass of chocolate milk and a “surprise me” for food.

They made for a strange picture. Three of them sitting as far apart as possible but held together by the tiny diameter of the table they were gathered around.

“I am not asking your permission,” Byleth scoffed, digging into the breakfast sandwich that came with her chocolate milk. It was well outside of the socially acceptable time for breakfast, but Byleth didn’t care. “I’m going to ask them to marry me. Whether or not you agree is irrelevant to me.” She had been thinking about this for months now. She asked vague questions about it to the others, trying to get a feel for where they stood on this matter. And finally, after so much thought and internal debate, she made up her mind. She was going to do it.

“Then why are we here?” Ingrid made a face after she took a sip of her drink, clearly not used to how strong they brewed their teas here.

“I want your advice for buying rings.”

Hilda nearly spat her drink across the table. She ended up coughing furiously into her mug trying not to choke on her drink.

“I feel like this is something you should be discussing with them, not us.” Ingrid frowned at Byleth while handing Hilda a stack of napkins.

“I have discussed this with them. Kind of. I know they don’t want anything too flashy or big. Silver rather than gold. A more simple, low-key design than anything too intricate. I can’t afford anything too too fancy either.” Byleth listed each of the things off on her fingers. Thinking about it was making her head spin, there were too many options and too many things that could go wrong. 

“Okay, that’s great?” Ingrid stared at her with wide eyes, equally overwhelmed by the sudden deluge of information.

“What about _that_ ring?” Hilda suggested, jabbing a finger at Byleth’s chest. 

Byleth looked down to where a silver ring dangled on a silver chain. There was a simple flower pattern made from several small purple gems in the center. “My dad’s ring?”

“Yeah. You wear it all the time. It must mean _something_ to you.” Hilda scowled at her like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Yeah. My dad gave it to me,” Byleth stated flatly.

Both Ingrid and Hilda stared at her expectantly, waiting for her to clue in.

_Oh._

“I only have one ring though.”

“So you get three more made.” Hilda rolled her eyes, clearly unimpressed.

“Three?” 

“Well you can’t give them the one around your neck. That would be kind of weird… like favouritism?” Ingrid looked to Hilda for support.

Hilda nodded in agreement. “Besides, you have to wear a ring too. You can wear that one and get three other ones made.”

“I see,” Byleth hummed thoughtfully to herself, thinking things over. She wanted to pick different stones for each of her girls. It would be the same ring but at the same time, different. It would tie them all together but still show their individuality.

Byleth thought about the green in Dorothea’s eyes. The way that they sparkled in the light. The green of her liveliness, her vivaciousness and playfulness. This wasn’t exactly the case as of late though, Byleth had watched the light in Dorothea’s eyes flicker with some kind of uncertainty that she refused to share. All Byleth wanted to do was to breathe life back into Dorothea.

Byleth thought about the red of Edelgard’s lips. The red lipsticks that she wore sometimes for specific court cases. The red of Edelgard’s passion and fire and drive. Edelgard knew what she wanted but more often than not, Edelgard seemed to waver. She was conflicted. Byleth could see it in the way she frowned after court cases, fighting an internal court case inside her head with no clear winner. All Byleth wanted to do was reignite that passion in Edelgard.

Byleth thought about the blue of Constance’s eyes, the blue of the little headband that she always wore. The blue of Constance’s endless curiosity and infinite mind. It was like a vast expanse of an ocean and Byleth would never get tired of discovering something new. But Constance was tiring, something was plaguing her. The neverending fount of energy that she used to have was drying up. All Byleth wanted to do was breathe fresh air under the wings that had always kept her afloat, always looking and discovering.

By the time that Byleth snapped back to reality, she was faced with an empty table and a text from Hilda on her phone.

_“You zoned out pretty hard but we figured you had things handled by the look on your face so we left. Invite us to the wedding.”_

It wasn’t that difficult to find a good jeweller in town and figure out exactly how the rings were supposed to go. The most difficult part was trying to figure out their ring sizes. Byleth ended up waiting until they were all asleep one night and awkwardly taking measurements as they were all sleeping. 

Actually, the most difficult part was telling her girls that she had lost her dad’s ring- when really it was at the jewellers for two days while they made moulds and replicas. Byleth felt really bad telling them that she had lost the ring at the gym because the girls did all they could to cheer her up from her not-even-that-sad-but-yes-I-am-distraught state. (She ‘found’ the ring at the gym lost and found the next day so all was well.)

The most difficult part- maybe for real this time, was sitting down in front of her laptop again. She had a few days left before the date that she had given the HR folks in Derdriu. She needed to have a decision made, and soon.

The HR person in Derdriu had even sent over a copy of the contract for Byleth to look over. It was a very generous offer- quite a bit more than Byleth was making right now at Garreg Mach. There were more benefits, paid vacations, and paid sick days. All very nice things. Derdriu was also a pretty amazing city.

Byleth thought about the one time that she had been there when she was younger. She had gone on a trip with her dad. The weather was nice, the ocean was beautiful, and the food was delicious. She had enjoyed that trip immensely.

Edelgard would like the hot weather of Derdriu- she always complained bitterly when it was cold out. The cold made her joints hurt and Byleth had made sure to stock up on warm blankets and hot water bottles for the winters.

Dorothea would love the busyness and liveliness of Derdriu. There was always so much to do, so many events and festivals were hosted in Derdriu- quite a few of them were theatre events as well. She would never be bored there and she would have a field day with all the cute dates they could have there.

Constance. While the sun was not great, from what Byleth heard of Derdriu University, she was much more open minded and valued innovation. It felt like Constance was always being stifled at such a traditional institution like Garreg Mach. She always complained about the funding and the dumb politics involved in the academic world at Garreg Mach.

Byleth leaned back in her chair, thinking very hard. She didn’t know when her thoughts had drifted to her three partners, but it was clear that she couldn’t make this decision on her own.

It didn’t matter where she ended up, she decided. Byleth was suddenly very excited by the prospect of marrying her girls. She just wanted to marry them.

_She was going to marry them._

* * *

There was a point in Edelgard’s life where she held the justice system in the highest regard. From the moment she was old enough to be seated in a courtroom and her feet barely skimmed the floor, she would watch her Uncle work the space as if it were his own personal chess game. But instead, he played both sides of the board with devastating accuracy that always led to victory even before his counterpart knew it. 

The verdict was always guilty. 

Edelgard would always watch in awe and it wasn’t long before she begged her Uncle to mentor her, to bring justice to a criminal-ridden society. He had taught her well. With a few strings pulled, Edelgard took her bar examinations in her early twenties. Soon she was making legacies in the courtroom come to life with a likeness of her Uncle. It was almost frightening. Testimonies were shattered, contradictions being pulled out of thin air that swayed the jury in her favor, and the gavel resonated with the guilty verdict. 

Throughout her studies, away from her Uncle, she knew that his tactics were less than savory. It was a dubious game that walked the tightrope between legality and a political dance. At its base, it was her job to seek the truth, not seek the amount of convictions. At first she didn’t care - if the conviction came to pass she assumed it to be fate. It wasn’t until she met her girls did she ever consider becoming softer. That maybe not everyone who sat on the stand was guilty of a crime.

Still. An innocent verdict on a criminal would ruin her. And so she kept on.

It wasn’t uncommon for Byleth, Dorothea, and Constance to sit in the audience of her court cases. When she would enter the courtroom, she would spot them in their seats as their eyes lit up in recognition and a delicate smile would come over her features. It was a far cry from her reputation as a stone-faced official. But the moment the room was called to order, she was focused. 

She remembered all the little things the girls would say after her cases.

_“Edie, you crushed him!” Dorothea said, practically gushing._

_“Yeah he didn’t stand a chance, that defense attorney was actually sweating,” Byleth laughed as she slung her arm over Edelgard’s shoulders._

_“Oh, as if either of you are surprised! Our El is brilliant!” Constance approved, smile bright._

_Edelgard would tug at her tie, feeling the heat creep up to her cheeks. Even so, there was a smile she tried to smother. Goddess, she hoped the crowd of reporters didn’t see her face right now. “Girls, you’re embarrassing me. It really wasn’t that big of a deal. He wasn’t prepared and once the defendant tells a lie it becomes a whole string of lies.”_

_“It’s almost hard to believe how sweet and adorable you can be with us when you’re striking down men in suits left and right,” Constance said, planting a light kiss on Edelgard’s rosy cheek._

_Edelgard huffed indignantly. But she would be surrounded by light giggles and it always made her heart flutter._

She loved them, dearly. But it almost made her question if they would truly be proud of the cases they haven’t seen.

Her question would be answered after today.

It was a homicide case. A young woman sat in the defendant’s seat, accused of killing her boyfriend. He was shot and stabbed to death. Throughout the trial, at first she claimed that she was never in his home. Edelgard began to pick her apart even more. Her story wasn’t lined up, there were flaws at every turn. 

But that was the air Edelgard imposed. It made people make mistakes even if their stories were true. In the end, the defendant claimed self defense. Edelgard knew the jury doubted that. Her web of lies, whether intentional or forced out of her, had already decided their verdict. 

And in the end, Edelgard would always let the evidence speak for her. 

Waiting for the jury to reconvene was always a moment full of anxiousness and pressure. Edelgard did her best not to fidget in her own seat, her hands neatly folded on top of the table as she waited. The jury came back and the spokesperson read the verdict aloud.

“The people of the jury find the defendant, Monica Ochs, guilty of homicide of the first degree.”

The gavel struck the block and the defendant’s fate was sealed. Edelgard could see the visceral reaction on her face, the oncoming waves of emotions that couldn’t help but spill from her eyes and her lips. After the bailiff bound her wrists in cuffs, she began to struggle against his grip. She whirled in Edelgard’s direction, fury like fire.

“I hope you’re happy putting innocent people away and ruining their lives! Your heart is rotten! All you care about is your verdict, not the real criminals in this world! I won’t forget your goddess-damned face, Hresvelg!” 

On the outside, to most of the audience in the court, Edelgard’s expression didn’t change. It was only her girls that caught the slightest tick in her jaw and the way her fingers flexed beneath the table. Another bailiff helped take the defendant away and the court was adjourned. Edelgard briskly gathered her things and walked quickly outside of the courthouse, her girls barely catching up to her in the lot. Edelgard was taking slow breaths as she leaned against her car. Dorothea, Byleth, and Constance had finally caught up, all looking concerned.

“El… you know what she said wasn’t true,” Byleth consoled, trying to get Edelgard to look at her. 

Dorothea quickly joined in. “Yeah, Edie. You were just doing your job, she had no right to say those sorts of things about you. You’re the most caring person in the world.”

“And darling, we love you,” Constance added. “All of you.”

For some reason, that stung. Edelgard barely kept her composure as her eyes welled up with tears. “Can we just go home? Please.”

The girls nodded and later in the evening, the night was filled with cuddles, sweet kisses, and bergamot tea. Edelgard was never alone with the amount of love that always surrounded her. Edelgard fell asleep that night, snuggled into Byleth’s chest, Dorothea lacing their fingers together from behind Byleth, and Constance holding her close while spooning her. It was the most peace she would feel over the next few months.

The cases got harder after that. More convictions, more guilty people, and more echoes of that single girl cursing at her. It ran her ragged and she was tired. She didn’t lose her edge in the courtroom, the Hresvelg image didn’t change. But as soon as she crossed the threshold of their home, the facade fell away and the girls were there to catch her. 

At least that’s how it started. 

As months passed, Byleth was always seemingly distracted even more so than usual. She always had a faraway look in her eyes that made Edelgard worry so much her hands would itch. She was losing her sense of purpose already, she couldn’t afford to lose her during all this. Byleth would kiss her cheek goodbye noncommittally, mind already elsewhere as she left for the day.

“Bye El, have a good day.”

Edelgard accepted the kiss against her hair, words stuck in her throat when she noticed the necklace with a certain signature ring around Byleth’s neck was missing. Byleth was already pulling away.

“You too....” she mumbled.

As Edelgard finished suiting up, she would kiss Constance goodbye. Edelgard offered her a smile and smooth a thumb over Constance’s furrowed brow, various documents with her research scattered on the table. It was completely out of her wheelhouse but she knew Constance was brilliant and she did her best to encourage her despite her own grief.

“You’ll figure it out, love. You always do,” Edelgard reassured, a soft kiss now being planted on her forehead.

Constance smiled but it didn’t reach her beautiful baby blue eyes that Edelgard adored. She missed her being happy. Constance would put on a brave face and drown in her work. Edelgard wished she could pull her away from it all. 

Then, Edelgard would make her way to their bedroom. She found the lump under the covers, Dorothea’s chocolate hair splaying on the pillows. Edelgard sat quietly on the edge of the bed, the dip of her weight causing Dorothea’s emerald green eyes to pop open. 

“Hey baby girl,” Dorothea greeted, a delicate smile on her face.

“Hey,” Edelgard replied softly, combing her fingers through Dorothea’s silk tresses. “You okay? You’ve been sleeping in a lot lately.”

Dorothea yawned, rubbing her eyes as she sat up, the covers pooling at her bare waist. Edelgard swallowed, Dorothea’s skin beneath the sunlight filtering through the windows never failed to steal the words from her throat. Dorothea smirked and twirled a strand of Edelgard’s hair on her index finger, effectively distracting her.

“I know you see something you like.” 

Edelgard coughed and instead laced their fingers together. “You’re beautiful and you know that. The fact that you actively use it against me is unfair, really.”

“And you,” Dorothea piped up, tapping Edelgard on the tip of her nose. “Are just too charming for your own good.”

Edelgard blushed but she knew what she was doing. The distraction game. Edelgard wasn’t a prosecutor for nothing, she was trained to pick up on the little signs. She saw the subtle shadows beneath Dorothea’s eyes and the frown on her face when she thought no one was looking. Edelgard’s heart ached for her. After all this time, she was still afraid to show herself. 

Edelgard told herself, for now, she wouldn’t push.

“I just want to make sure you’re okay, sweetheart. Make sure you eat soon, for me, please.” 

Dorothea smiled, the tiniest amount of underlying sadness in the curved line. She nodded regardless and fit her lips to Edelgard’s in a smooth kiss. Edelgard caressed the curve of her hip, hoping that it would comfort her unspoken turmoil. With a final kiss on the crown of her brunette hair, Edelgard left. 

She immediately felt the fresh air of dread.

Her world was spinning and changing with no signs of stopping.

_Goddess, what is going on?_

* * *

She was used to partially waking up to the small, sweet kiss that Edelgard would give her before getting up, then to the sound of her car leaving the garage. The short woman had always been the first to rise, sometimes the last to come home, and definitely the one to go out before all the others were even barely functional. That surely applied to Constance herself, who fully stirred in response to the sound and groaned, more due to the first thought that hit her mind than the sheer fact that she was awake.

_Another day to spend in the lab, with those amazing, headstrong little microorganisms to keep me company. Such a novelty, such a lively companion… though what is the difference if I come home to… this?_

Although she found herself snugly fit in between the beautiful sight of naked Dorothea and Byleth, her body warm in a way that wasn’t overwhelming, it was easy for her to sigh at that and wonder why the proximity did nothing to abate the growing sensation that she was, in fact, alone. 

Which was an interesting notion, given how she had been living with her three amazing girlfriends for years. That was the first time she could remember such an idea taking over her mind in that strong of a way. Granted, they had always kept their individuality, and were keen on not always doing everything together. They were able to enjoy their own hobbies with or without company, even scheduling time away from each other when the need for some privacy appeared. 

And although that was the case, one would wonder if they weren’t in the best of arrangements. They had not only survived college together but also started their own professional lives together. Though they were established into those too, she couldn’t help but feel something… foreboding about the entire thing. 

She tried quelling those thoughts as she slid her way down from the two heaviest sleepers in the entire house, wondering why she had let herself be put in that position to begin with since she was always the second person to leave. It wouldn’t be a good day if she let it begin like so. It was enough that her research was giving her enough trouble to keep her awake at night- if she added into it anything bad related to the women she loved, well… it surely would _not_ be helpful in the slightest.

With a long final look at their comically giant bed, the assortment of comforters in colors such as red, blue, gold and purple lying around haphazardly, she grabbed her lab coat, some clothes she had separated the night before and placed on the wooden table by the window, and left the room, a sad beam on her lips at the sight of Byleth creeping closer to Dorothea before enveloping her in a hug.

Her usual ensemble of black formal pants, faux-leather shoes and lilac buttoned-up shirt in place, an outfit that was usually critiqued in her line of work and how messy that could get. She picked up her oversized purple purse from the main table in the living room, then her own car keys and left. Whereas Edelgard usually had breakfast at home, Constance would rather stop in one of her five favorite cafés and grab whatever caught her fancy before work started. A rather expensive habit, since she would accept nothing beside perfection, but Garreg Mach had enough to offer for those willing to pay.

And in times when she was doubting her own abilities as a researcher and girlfriend, her comfort more often than not turned to food, to having that blissful taste of blueberry muffins or her favorite strawberry and chocolate galettes first thing in the morning. 

She went through the motions of starting her car, getting out of the garage, and into the city in autopilot, as it had been for the last three months or so. She didn’t even wonder why seeing a blue sky above filled her with dread instead of joy, as it simply signaled another day working inside a chilly lab and having to step into the blazing heat once she was done with it. Not that the warmth would ever touch her, not when her mind was so entranced into how cold she had been feeling for quite a while. How lonely, in a way, and not just because research was at most a solitary work. 

The place she decided upon for breakfast was one of the prettiest cafés in all of Garreg Mach, one that overlooked the Oghma mountains and had some small, round tables set outdoors. She placed her usual order of tall vanilla latte and a pain au chocolat and took her usual seat. She was a regular there - and Dorothea had once teased that the waitress was half in love with her as well, the one time she had taken the actress there before an audition. One she had been very nervous about since she was going to try for the main role, and had almost given up on, but Constance and the others had encouraged her until the end. 

That day had seemed so long ago, perhaps it had even been set in another reality. It had been fall, she realized. The trees around the circular plaza in front of the café had been crimson, its leaves falling to the ground and making a pretty mat, another contrast to an overcast sky which had promised rain and the mountains behind, peaks covered with the barest hint of snow.

The two women had shared pastries and tea instead of coffee, as the beverage would put Dorothea even more on edge and that was the exact opposite of what both wanted to do before that tryout. They talked about their lives, the weather, how everything seemed so iconic and peaceful. How they loved their partners to the end of the world itself and were happy that their relationship had survived so many highs and lows already.

What followed that day was a cold winter and an even chillier spring, as somehow they had started drifting apart. Edelgard was having more and more issues as a prosecutor and they had indeed noticed those coming to light on the last cases they had attended, or how she had behaved after the court was dismissed. However, no one knew exactly what was going through her mind, since the woman tended to withdraw when she was stressed, afraid of lashing out and losing control over her feelings with her girlfriends. Dorothea looked pained, concerned, never talking much about herself or what she had been doing, even if they knew she hadn’t been having an easy season.

Byleth, though… Byleth was somewhat distant, barely talking and usually wearing a frowning, tense expression even when they were supposed to be enjoying a moment of respite from their routines. Not to mention she had had the audacity to lose her ring. Her ring, of all things! The one object they all treasured so dearly and that she should never ever misplace. Even if it were only an object, and it _had_ been found two days later, Constance couldn't shake away the feeling of… carelessness that the action seemed to entail. 

She thanked the waitress when her food was brought and took a hefty bite of the best pain au chocolat she had ever had in the city. On that day it was tasteless, however, as her mind was wrapped in those issues and ungrounded in her reality. As she worried about how, on top of everything else, her own work was seeming more and more useless, the less results and developments she was able to achieve. And although she knew it was stupid of her to want to rush transformations, to rush living matter like that, well… there were some people who couldn’t care less about that.

Unfortunately she had the displeasure of calling some of these people her bosses or the ones who funded her work to begin with. And to hell with her explanations, at times all they wanted was to know where their money was going. They were more than willing to take away their financial support if she failed to deliver, as they had just done a few days ago. Her deadline for such a matter being placed for exactly one month away.

Constance sighed, overwhelmed even before she had set foot into the laboratory or donned her white coat. Yes, not a good sight at all that the day ahead would be great if she was already that worked out. No matter how clear the sky and how vividly the birds sang during that spring, her mind was again in a gloomy, dark place. One she had thought she had left once college was done for and she was praised to high heavens on her thesis, then hired to research by _the_ Garreg Mach University herself. 

She finished her breakfast and took out her wallet, fumbling with a slice of paper that fell once she opened it to get her card. Another sad smile appeared when she realized it was a ripped entrance ticket from the first play Dorothea had performed at and all three girls had attended as partners, to watch and cheer for her. It had been in their what, second year of college?

Goddess, time did pass by, but she wished the memories it left wouldn’t put such a bad taste in the back of her mouth as she wondered what had happened to those four silly, happy girls who had gotten together, were prone to chatting all the way until the next morning in each other’s dorm rooms. Dreaming of owning an apartment together (Edelgard’s words), having a stupidly giant mattress that would enough for the four of them (Byleth’s idea), a nice TV with the biggest couch they could afford so everyone could fit in snugly (Dorothea) and a veranda with a cozy table, so they would have the coziest, most lavish meals overlooking the city from time to time (Constance herself). 

And even though all those dreams and more had come into fruition,even if some people like their closest friends regarded them as highly successful or would usually attribute the dreaded words “relationship goals” in relation to them, there was still a rift forming between them. One she didn’t know if they would be able to overcome, as it had been widening for a while as of then.

The short ride left to work was spent in a rivulet of equally sad thoughts. As her car neared the research center building and she parked again in her usual place, she blinked and had to shake herself awake, surprised that she had arrived already and had barely seen the road going by. It had become somewhat common for her to spend entire days like that lately, to a point she didn’t entirely mind the lack of awareness. A contrast to eighteen-year-old Constance, yoga and mindfulness enthusiast who would coach her friends about living in the moment and being grounded at all times. 

That was easier said when reality wasn’t such a mess, when she had counted with her parents’ money and support even from afar. The deadline they had placed so she would deliver the small thing they had asked in return for their resources too far away for her to really be worried about. Now, after almost ten years later, a bomb ticking ever so loud and close to her as each second passed. 

An idea that she yet again chose to suppress as she picked up her purse, though soon she knew she'd run out of space to stock those abandoned thoughts. 

Constance had half a mind to return to her car and call in sick at that point. No one had seen her yet and she would more than likely just waste time in the lab, watching over bacteria that were unwilling to work for her. There was of course always the hope they had done their job and shown some progress overnight, but she knew better to expect anything. She had already given up doing so after disappointment had hit her again and again for countless days. 

She was usually the first one in the building and today was no exception, thus she rummaged her purse for the keys while walking the short distance from the open parking lot to the place. Her mind cursing as the chilling wind was giving away to an already blighting sun, even though it was only the beginning of the day and spring itself. She missed the mild, colder climates of her hometown, but not the abode where she had grown up having too many heated, passionate arguments with her parents. 

Once she finally did locate the keys, her eyes caught the three charms hanging on her keychain and she willed a smile as she saw the small, mad scientist with wild hair and a crazed face holding up a beaker cup as if in victory. Courtesy of Byleth, just like the rainbow-colored atom and the pink blob with heart eyes and a wide smile that was supposedly a cartoonish bacteria. Her heart warmed at that sight, before thudding icily again as she opened the building and went straight to her lab, turning on lights on hallways and the entrance room. Wishing she could do the same in her brain, lighting up answers to all of her troubles thus far instead of running from them in a sense. 

"A grand morning to you." She said to no one the moment she finally got to her particular portion of the laboratory and unlocked it, was greeted by vast, empty space and the echo of her own voice. That was a habit she had developed years ago, when her work was being praised and showing results. When it had been a delight to get there before others and time would flow while she worked, scribbled equations on the huge whiteboard that took up the left side of the room and darted back to her favorite bench, right in front of the windows.

Although they were never allowed to open them since temperatures had to be carefully controlled for experiments, it was still good to be able to glance outside at the campus, watch as kids ran to and fro classes or just look at how the wind teased some trees here and there. Most found it distracting, but Coco had lost count of how many times that glimpse of the outside world had helped and inspired her to solve something her brain had been stuck on.

She hoped today she'd have luck with that as well, she mused, as she put on her lab coat and went to wash her hands on the sinks located to her right. The methodical procedure already made her brain focus less on… domestic affairs and more on scientific ones. She would have to take it slowly with all those issues that had been accumulating over the days, or else she'd combust from overexertion. So… bacteria first, girlfriends next.

Which of course was easier said than done as, after gathering her samples from their resting place inside a sleek white cabinet with transparent doors on the right side of the room and analyzing them on a microscope, she realized all her work from the last day had been for naught. 

That was really the last straw, somehow. 

"Ugh, what do you require from me? I have calculated everything according to the latest articles and their revisions of the best books!" she exploded, counting herself lucky that there was no one else in the building - and it would remain like that for at least another half an hour. She could afford to yell, right? Maybe _that_ was the motivation those bacteria needed. "Why, just yesterday I redid every equation and even looked for inconsistencies in the original formula. Why are you acting like that?

"What am I supposedly ignoring? Is my theory lacking? Or perhaps my methods?" she continued, putting on some gloves and gathering the equipment she would need.

Then drawing a blank when she realized she had been about to redo everything the same way as she had yesterday. Her mind was still in autopilot while her mouth yelled in frustration. 

"This is more than likely not my day. Or my week. Oh, Sothis above, make it not my cursed _year_ even," Constance muttered, opening her purse in search for her own markers, given how it'd be a pain for her to open up the storage room for more.

Then stopped talking when her hand curled around something soft and square-like, closing her eyes as if in physical pain when she pulled it out and saw a small notebook that Edelgard had given her. The cover was soft and purple, the illustration a black kitten leaving a magician's hat. For the longest time she had used it to keep some ideas that crept out of nowhere, either about work or things she could do with/for her girlfriends. 

It had gone unused as of recent, since her mind had stopped feeling inspired about pretty much everything. Its presence there in that moment, while a good reminder of all that she loved, also a cruel one of all that had been lost.

"Now there is that, too," she whispered, setting it aside and finally taking her lilac, crimson, black, and blue markers from a corner of her bag, then pacing to the board. "I leave this place, which used to be my second home, and go to another where the atmosphere is… odd and obscure, to say the least. There is too much silence and yes, I do know I contribute to it, but how to converse about all that has been in hiding until now?" 

Her fingers ran half-heartedly through equations she could spell in her sleep in order to calculate the exact amount of a substance. Or how that would react with another one and the impact it would have on the microorganisms she had been working with. Her mind, still trying to do the same with her issues at home. At all of her homes, past and present.

She was halfway through one of the latest calculations she could use so as to get a new version of her experiment started when her phone buzzed loudly, unsettling the pace of both her rushing thoughts and her hands had created in their mechanical labor. It wasn’t like her to be distracted, but it was already a frustrating day to begin with and honestly, a few minutes of attending personal calls wouldn’t set her back. No, the bacteria were managing that just fine by themselves, thank you very much.

So she went back to her own bench and grabbed her phone, cringing as she looked at the bright pink case with a blue crown behind it, remembering how her three girlfriends had gifted it to her on their last anniversary. Frowning slightly when she realized that wasn’t a message, but a phone call that had been going on for a while already. Apparently that person was really hellbent on talking to her, as they had already called several times and not given up altogether, even when she had failed to notice her phone was going off.

Her heart lurching when she unlocked the screen and read the contact information, then beating in triple speed as a response to that. Her mouth dropped as she registered the whooping ten missed calls and the almost eleventh one, her hands fumbling and going through the motion of answering that before it would go to voicemail one more time. 

“H-hello?” She mentally cursed herself for that weak response, the fact that her voice shook and had been too timid, as if the freaking police was calling her. Though, in a sense, that wasn’t wrong at all.

If her brain was correct, it really was the ten-year-long Promise Police paying her a little visitation. And that was something she did not want to deal with on that particular day. Or ever.

“Constance, darling, the most pleasant of mornings to you,” a syrupy sweet voice crooned on the other side of the line. Her mother, Kathy von Nuvelle, seemed too pleased with herself. Almost as if she were singing in victory already, which was never a good sign.

“Hello, dearest mother. The most pleasant of mornings to you as well,” she repeated the greeting, trying to calm her racing thoughts and how she felt like a little kid all over again. A kid who had been chastised by not speaking too proper, having her head in the clouds or buried in a science book instead of learning how to cook and care for the house. Wasting her time, as her family would say, in things that were “unlady-like” and “prone to making marriage evade her”. She dreaded the next question, but knew she would have to make it either way. “Is there anything I may assist you with?”

“Oh, I am indeed delighted that you asked. So as I am sure you know and remember, the date for our promise is nearing, correct? It has been ten years since we have agreed to pay for all of your higher education, despite us being sure this was a waste of time and money on your part. But alas, we parents sometimes must suffer for the sake of our children,” she answered, as always making a show of everything. “We did beg you for something we wanted in return. So it is your turn to pay your debt to us, my beloved daughter.”

Yes, there it was. The exact thing she had been fearing, the moment of truth. The one matter she had kept away from her partners forever, since at first she never thought her parents would actually do that, then hadn’t wanted to face the consequences, the fact that they more than likely would.

A decade was a long time. When a young Constance had asked her family to aid her with her college fee, then accepted their terms of doing so as long as she married a wealthy, powerful man sometime in the next ten years, she had agreed to the absurd terms with hopes that her scientific prowess would be enough to prove them wrong. To show her parents that she didn’t need a rich man around in order to be successful in life and that all they had once seen as a ‘waste of time’ was actually her contributing to society as a whole. 

What a joke that her work, although internationally recognized, had been seen as “mere fun” by parents that were unwilling to change their minds and see what a talented daughter they had. Instead, whenever the three met, they would keep asking her about suitors, boyfriends, and marriage prospects, then turn a blind eye to her academic achievements. The whole matter, at first miffing to say the least, escalating to a point when she simply stopped going to family gatherings and started making excuses about her absence, a measure that was not only endorsed by her girlfriends, but turned into a small competition on who could come up with the best lies for her to tell them. 

Now there she was, with her mother on the phone even though she hadn’t financially relied on them for quite a while, her lovers being distant and her bacteria not cooperating. What a day to be Constance von Nuvelle. 

“Yes, mother, it is rather hard to forget about such a matter when you keep reminding me of it all the time,” she answered, letting some bottled-up frustration escape and coat her voice. She had been a fool. She should have talked to her partners, maybe thought about a way to stop this sooner.

“And while you do recall it, I do not see you taking any steps towards that. All we hear from you revolves around work, work, and more work. Honestly, my darling, you cannot meet men if you do not leave that cold, stale laboratory of yours and go outside! Go to the shopping mall, get yourself some new clothes and just pretend that you are reading, or perhaps in need of help with something. Men do love aiding women in distress.” 

Coco had to pinch herself after that. She had to be dreaming, right? Her mother had _not_ just told her to abandon her job and -

“Well, in any case. Since you have failed to bring me and your dad at least one suitor for us to meet, we have gone ahead and arranged one for you ourselves.” The woman went on, her voice rising in excitement with each and every word. If she could see how pale Constance was turning as that conversation progressed, she would probably not go on with it. Or maybe she would, in any case. 

“So to cut this exchange short, as I am sure you have a lot of… _work_ to do… I have scheduled you a date with a dashing, perfect young man this weekend. Oh, honey, I am so sure the two of you will get along very well together! His name is Metodey and his family is one of the richest in Fódlan, to begin with.” 

She babbled on. “And if I may say so myself, he is a handsome, well-behaved youngster that will more than likely put an end to that foolishness of yours. You have had your way with things for too long, it is time to settle down and get our family line going! In any case, I ask that you do not be late and I shall send you the coordinates to your meeting in a little while.”

The talk did continue with the usual pleasantries one was required to say before actually being allowed to hang up, but Constance heard nothing of it. Her body numb, heart beating so hard it actually hurt her chest, thoughts so jumbled she could no longer tell them apart, she turned off her phone and fell into a seat, staring into nothing and letting time pass her by.

* * *

Everything was fine.

Dorothea was fine.

She just needed to get up from the big, _ridiculously big,_ bed, and get her day started. It’d be fine, she promised herself. Just one step at the time.

Dorothea grabbed the sheets that covered her and the void in her chest grew stronger yet.

She was used to pretending for people on the stage. Now she was pretending for herself, lying to her lovers, lying to her family, lying to the mirror. She’d look at her reflection, see the pain in her eyes, the grief in her lips that had forgotten how to truly laugh, and would tell herself she was fine.

She was fine.

The bed started to run cold, with Byleth gone from her side, the last one of them to leave, she’d be alone in a sea of cushions and sheets that failed to comfort her. Not anymore at least.

Not in a long time.

Edelgard and Constance had been the ones to buy those large comforters in different colors, joking lightly as they attributed each color to their girlfriends. Green, red, purple, blue. So different and yet running together in harmony. A beautiful display that wouldn’t be complete unless all the pieces fit together.

The happy memory soured in her mind, clenching her throat and churning her stomach.

What had happened?

Where had she lost her will, her cheerfulness, her talent?

Where in all of those happy years that now seemed like a blurry memory, had she lost herself?

Dorothea had no answers for herself. But she promised everything would be better if she was able to get up and start her day.

The warmth of her lovers long gone, as they had all left the bed one by one. Leaving her numb and hollow. Dorothea got up, nothing to look forward to that day.

She had been a star, or so she had been told by so many people, that she had ended up believing it. Garreg Mach should’ve been a dream to a little girl such as her. Alone in the world, left by a father that didn’t love her, a mother that couldn’t share her life with her, her time too short to raise the daughter she had hoped and cared for. Despite all the odds, she had made it. She had risen as the morning star and had captured the attention of a public that hadn’t expected her.

Her rich voice, her portentous presence, her overwhelming control of the stage.

Dorothea Arnault had raised among many so the world could bow before her.

Where had she lost herself?

Where was that young lady, that awestruck girl that would get every role she wished for?

The floor was cold under her bare feet, yet she got up and put a robe on before making her way to the kitchen and grabbed her mug. Byleth used to leave enough for her in the coffee machine. She poured it, watching the black cup with golden letters. It had been a gift after her first important play in a theater from the three of them, it had the biggest star on it and a goofy “Queen of the Stage” under it.

She bit her bottom lip and averted her eyes from it.

What a joke.

What a cruel joke.

She dismissed the idea of having a proper breakfast, she’d lie later to Constance when she asked if she had eaten. Everything settled heavily and cold in her belly, a hand twisting her insides with icy, calculated cruelty. She walked through the house instead, cruising from one room to the next one, going up and down the stairs, the cup of coffee going cold in her hand.

It was her unspoken task to keep the unending hallways and rooms clean and tidy. Nobody had asked, Edelgard had voiced concern even when she arrived early one day and had seen Dorothea dusting the high roof beams on top of a chair in a rather precarious posture.

“Oh, Edie dear, hush, it’s fine.” She had said, gesturing at her and stepping down the chair. Edelgard had looked at her and in her eyes she could see her concern. She had muted her protests in a hug and a kiss, telling her to help her out with dinner before Constance arrived and needed an extra rush of sugar after a day in her lab and Byleth appeared eating absolutely everything in her path.

It was the least she could do, right? After so many months with no luck getting a paid job. It had been slow. She had stopped buying the smallest of things, no more coffees outside, no more bouquets every now and then _despite how much Constance and Edelgard loved those,_ and then she hadn’t been able to buy her share of the groceries.

But it wasn’t going to be like that forever.

It had to change.

It _had_ to change.

Right?

She feared it wouldn’t.

And then their monthly bills had arrived and Byleth, in silence, her wide blue eyes kind and knowing, had taken them away from her shaking hands. She had replaced those accusatory papers, slipping her hands in hers and tugging her close, hugging her in a silent gesture that had pushed Dorothea to the edge of tears.

Constance had joined that muted embrace, never mentioning how Dorothea shook in their arms, biting her lips to stop her sobs from tearing her apart.

And after that, coming down the stairs, Edelgard had called them before seeing them and made her best effort to engulf them in her arms and shield them from the world. To be their shield and shelter, their haven where they could just be and breathe free of worries and sorrows.

If such a world could just exist…

Dorothea stopped, her coffee cold, her heart throbbing and pounding and hurting.

She hadn’t cried before them since then.

Yet she had cried alone when her sadness threatened to drown her, when the maelstrom of the world around her, growing and throbbing, threatened to devour her and leave nothing in its path. She had cried as a way to let those feelings run free, out in the open for her to see and feel ashamed of them.

Then, as every time she was to step onto the stage, she had wiped her tears away and had walked with her head high, lying to everybody what she was and what she could accomplish.

Lying to herself what she was and what she felt at the bottom of her heart.

To forget how everybody was, slowly, leaving her behind.

The coffee ran through the drain, disappearing from her green sight, unbothered by the fact that she had just had a sip of it.

It was well past noon and there were things to be done. A gigantic bed to be made, hallways to be cleaned, tableware to wash.

Emails to review.

She stopped. Her throat was dry out of the sudden.

She should take a bath first, dress up, and live that lie her life was till it resembled a truth. A perfectly told lie that would pass by as the only truth.

The outside world could wait, emails, applications, reviews, professional opinions. All of them could wait.

They could wait forever, for all she cared.

She was already too hurt to willingly expose herself more.

Their bathroom was a myriad of bottles, products, towels, and products. There were never enough lotions to try. Or so she thought when she could afford them. She grabbed Edelgard’s hair products with a groan, before getting in for a quick shower.

Her phone was still connected to the charger, in their room, far away from the bed and from her. The farthest away possible, actually. Its screen lighting up each time a notification appeared, a reminder of all the things she had postponed.

Of all the things she had failed at.

It was weird still that her hair smelled like Edie’s. The first time she had used her shampoo Dorothea had fooled herself, looking around the empty house searching for her girlfriend every hour, tricked by the scent of her shampoo in her hair.

Every time she had been left with a void in her chest, the palpable absence of their words, their smiles, their presence. She had been alone in that empty, enormous house.

Alone with her racing thoughts.

Her dress was light, beautiful, red, and bold. The exact opposite she felt.

Yet, appearances were the biggest allies when performing.

Her hair was still wet, cascading down her shoulders and back. She’d let it run wild and free, still accommodating despite her lack of proper care for it. She would wash the plates Edelgard had used for breakfast. She’d fold Constance’s clothes so she could decide what to put on easily at night.

She’d think of the best dinner for Byleth when she came back exhausted and hungry, her skin tanned by the sun in Garreg Mach.

She’d avoid her contact with the outside world as the pending sentence looming over her head, patiently waiting for the right moment to jump on her and sink its fangs in what was left of her courage and wish to keep on in the pursuit of her acting career and her self-esteem.

The hours had no meaning, no length, no limits, as she fumbled around the house, the changing light her only company though the day as she occupied herself in trivial tasks that kept her from the large one. The only one she should’ve worried about and couldn’t bring herself to face.

When the afternoon sun hit her through the windows of the living room, she sighed, forcing herself up in search of her phone and the first contact of the outside world since she had woken up. It was a soft, shielded touch, she was sure to have messages in the group the four of them shared. She unlocked the screen and went back to the kitchen while reading through her text notifications.

She had texts from her girlfriends, of course.

Some from Manuela, her old teacher, who was still in touch with her.

She had a painful reminder that at least fifteen emails awaited for her to review them.

In the kitchen, dimly lightened by the sun that would set soon, she prepared coffee, her girlfriends sure to arrive soon and a hot beverage would be a nice touch, a beautiful detail.

The only one she could provide.

Dorothea poured herself some coffee, in her black and gold cup, before frowning and taking a decision that she was sure she’d regret. With heavy feet, each stride slower than the last one, she made her way through the kitchen, passed the living room, up the stairs to the office they shared.

A beautiful, ample space she hadn’t used in months.

Since her last play.

_That disaster._

She’d spend hours rehearsing there on weekends, reciting her lines as Byleth, Constance and Edelgard took turns to help her. Constance was always eager to help her in her theater endeavors, getting in the other roles so passionate that Dorothea could close her eyes and see herself on the stage, the spotlight on her, her fellow actors’ strong voices that exalted hers. She’d finish those rehearsals at home by kissing her partner slowly and thoroughly, a wide smile in their lips when she would let go of them with a wink.

The large space was now empty, and her lines forgotten.

The walls didn’t reverberate with the power of her voice anymore.

She let her coffee after taking a sip from it, turning on the desk computer. She fought the churning in her belly, the hot, sour taste in her tongue. The doubts ripped her thoughts apart.

The device was too compliant, too quick to open her email, to load all the emails she had avoided for weeks there.

Dorothea read them, slow, unalterable, drinking from her coffee as she went one by one, sometimes reading them twice or three times even.

By the moment she had finished her coffee, her inbox was clear and her eyes unfocused and blurry. Her fingers clenched her cup, looking at the star there.

She threw it to the wall on a clean, swift movement, as if she had practiced it for days, months even, and had achieved the perfect parable that described her broken dreams and her shattered hopes.

And she knew it. A truth yelled by her runaway thoughts with every beat of her heart.

It wasn’t fine.

Dorothea wasn't fine.

The porcelain of the cup scattered on the floor shone with the afternoon light with an immovable certainty.

* * *

Byleth wasn’t expecting to see Edelgard and Constance in the elevator when she rushed in through the closing elevator doors. She had expected them to be off work later and that she would have time to at least light a few candles, put out some fancy tableware and pour the wine. The only person Byleth was really prepared for encountering in their shared apartment at this time was Dorothea, and Byleth had a plan to run Dorothea a nice hot bath with all the oils and bubbles and scents that she loved. 

This threw a slight wrench in her plans, but that was fine. She could still lay out the food and pour the wine while her girlfriends- and perhaps soon-to-be-fiancees changed their clothes.

“What’s the occasion?” Edelgard asked, eyeing the three large bags of take out dangling from Byleth’s left hand, and the bottle of wine in Byleth’s other hand.

Byleth shrugged, trying to keep the giddy smile off of her face. “What? I can’t treat my girlfriends to a nice dinner and some wine?” 

Constance gave her a skeptical look even as she moved to take one of the takeout bags from Byleth’s hand. “Did you get another ticket on your moped? I told you that you can’t drive it across the quad.”

“Nope.” Byleth had to smile at that. “I just wanted to treat you. Everyone’s been working hard. It’s a treat.”

Edelgard sighed, slipping a hand around Byleth’s waist and pulling her in for a one armed hug. Byleth hastily lifted the bag of takeout out of the way so that it wouldn’t get crushed in the hug.

“I love you,” Edelgard mumbled into the crook of Byleth’s neck.

“Are you talking to the food?” Byleth teased, planting a gentle kiss on the crown of Edelgard’s head. She looked over to Constance, who was watching their interaction fondly, and gestured for her to join them. Constance obliged, wrapping herself around Edelgard and Byleth.

They stood like that for a moment, just relishing in each other’s presence until the elevator dinged and the doors slid open. It was nice, just to be able to pause even for a brief moment and enjoy the presence of each other- even if it did still feel incomplete without their fourth.

To their surprise, the apartment was dark when they opened the door. Byleth was sure Dorothea would’ve come bounding out of their shared bedroom or up off of the couch when she heard the key in the lock. But there was no response.

“Sweetheart?” Edelgard called out into the apartment softly.

Maybe Dorothea was asleep?

Byleth made her way into the kitchen to put down the bags of food and wine. It was pristine, as usual. Dorothea always did a wonderful job at keeping the place neat and tidy- to the point that sometimes Byleth felt bad that Dorothea was the one doing most of the household chores.

The others wandered through the apartment, putting their shoes and coats away and also checking in on their fourth partner. 

“Dearest?” Constance disappeared down the hall into the spare room that they had converted into an office and also rehearsal space for Dorothea.

Byleth busied herself with pulling wine glasses and tableware from the cabinets. “By? El? Can you come here for a moment?” Constance’s voice sounded panicky and Byleth immediately snapped to attention.

She and Edelgard both made it to the spare room at the same time. Constance was crouched along the far wall, poking at the remainders of a broken mug on the floor.

“Cupcake, don’t touch that I’ll get the broom,” Byleth admonished Constance gently, pulling her away from the mess before she could cut herself on the broken pieces. It was Dorothea’s favourite mug, the one that they had bought her after Dorothea’s first major play as the lead actress went up. By the looks of the splash marks and stains on the wall, it looked like it had been thrown pretty hard.

“Oh no,” Byleth turned to see Edelgard by the desk, where Dorothea’s laptop screen was still glowing brightly. Dorothea had a terrible habit of changing the power setting on her laptop to sleep when it was plugged in. Now, they could see the strings of emails of rejections.

“Oh no,” Constance echoed quietly from next to Edelgard.

“She’s not in the apartment, is she?” Byleth asked, already fishing her phone out of her pocket. 

Edelgard shook her head in response.

Byleth dialed Dorothea’s number and held the phone up to her ear as the others looked on in concern. There was a pause and then they could all hear the faint strains of Baby Shark play from the other room. 

Of course Dorothea had left her phone behind.

But where had she gone?

* * *

The empty glasses clattered as Dorothea slammed the table, a rather frantic look in her beautiful green eyes.

“I’m telling you, Ingrid dear! You deserve a woman that loves you!” Her voice was heavy, she had lost the clear ring that eclipsed and captivated the public when she was on stage to alcohol. 

“I know...” Ingrid looked at her, her glass of beer still full. Dorothea had drunk at least two shots of the strongest spirit they had in the bar and was fumbling with a third one. The liquid tilted dangerously as the songstress gestures at her, pointing at her as she spoke.

“You deserve a fine lady, a woman that respects you and loves you and can keep up with you!”

“Uh… yes. We’ve talked about this already…” Ingrid’s eyebrows shot up when she saw Dorothea take the third shot in one fluid motion, before looking around to the bar to ask for one more. How strange it was to be in a bar with her ex talking about the woman she deserved? “Are you sure you don’t want anything to eat?”

“Shush, darling, I’m fine. This isn’t about me, it’s about you!”

“Aha, and why’s that?” It was so strange Ingrid wasn’t sure she wanted to think about it.

“You need to know the bliss of love!” A waitress appeared with two more glasses of the transparent liquid in them, the strong alcohol that could take out the heavier drinker if not respected. Dorothea drank the fourth in less than a second. Ingrid’s jaw was hanging when she let the empty glass with the other ones.

“Ok, yes, whatever you say, just…” She grabbed the glass from her hands and, to her surprise, didn’t need to wrench it from her fingers. She let go of it, docile, her eyes following the movement as tears welled on them. “Doro, you know I love spending time with you, but what’s going on?”

“Nothing, everything’s fine! I’m fine!” And that was a lie. A pretty one, but a lie if she had ever heard any.

“Right…” Ingrid took a sip of her beer. It was a Friday afternoon and she was tired, she was worried and, overall, she didn’t feel prepared to deal with the whole “drinking to forget one’s problems” solution. But Dorothea was her friend.

She didn’t have an option.

Dorothea let her face hit the table, the empty glasses clattering again. She groaned and remained there, in the most unbecoming position for someone who used to manage themselves with grace and dignity.

Whatever happened, it was bad.

“Is everything ok with the girls?” she asked, tentatively, tilting her head. Dorothea mumbled something she couldn’t quite make out. “Thea, I need you to speak to me, not to the table.”

“It’s fiiiine. They’re doing greeeeat.”

“Aha…”

“Byleth is all mysterious now, she _lost_ and then _found_ her ring. The one Jeralt gave her… and Constance is doing her science… which seems to not be working out.” She straightened up and tried to reach for the shot that was still on the table. Ingrid put it out of her reach. “And Edie is putting everybody in jail… she is like that, you know? Everything under control…”

“Thea... “ Ingrid put away her beer and looked at her friend, really looked at her. She noticed the bags under her eyes, her hair unkempt, her bare ears and neck with no ornaments. It hurt to see her that way. Not even in the worst moments of their relationship she had seemed so miserable. And she had never looked like that when she’d started dating Edelgard, Byleth, and Constance.

There was something wrong.

“Dorothea, what’s going on?” Ingrid had never been one with tact. Maybe it wasn’t the most subtle question. But it was effective.

Maybe too effective.

Tears were welling up in her friend’s eyes.

“Oh… Thea, everything is fine, I swear!” She got up and hurried to her side, in an effort to comfort her.

“Of course everything is fine!” Dorothea hugged her, her shoulders trembling and sobs making their way through her lips. Ingrid hugged her, tapping her back awkwardly as her mind raced, panicking.

Her friend, her wasted friend who was also her ex, was crying and hugging her.

She needed to call Dorothea’s girlfriends. She needed to call them and let them know that Dorothea had decided to go out on a Friday afternoon and get wasted alongside her ex as she screamed from the top of her lungs Ingrid deserved a fine woman. Ingrid bit her lip. How was she supposed to explain that?

Her pragmatic mind kicked in. There were things she needed to address first, as the bill. She looked at her glass of beer, still half full, and the empty glasses Dorothea had consumed and sighed.

“Hey, Thea, it’s gonna be fine, okay? I need to pay for this and I’m getting you home.” She let her go gently, using her hands to untangle her sobby, drunk friend, guiding her back into resting on the table as she mumbled how everything was fine despite her having no talent whatsoever.

Ingrid paid the bill quickly, a dark thought in her mind as she heard that last comment again and again and again.

Of course, the hard position Dorothea had been lately was bound to take a toll on her. What she didn’t expect was that her friend wouldn’t cope with it in a healthy way. She walked back to Dorothea, shoving her wallet back into her pockets trying not to think about the pricey alcohol she had just paid for.

“Come on. Let’s get you home. Do you have your phone to call Edelgard?”

“Nooooo… I forrrrgot iiiit.” Her voice was completely lost now, the alcohol kicking in and taking a hold of her tongue, heavy and dragging each syllable. That was no good. 

Ingrid sighed and took her phone out. Grabbing Dorothea by her arm and guiding her outside for fresh air. “I’ll call her…” Dorothea didn’t answer, she was mumbling again, all her attention put into not tripping with her own feet.

What a mess.

Ingrid looked through her contacts, tapping on Edelgard’s, and waiting on the tone. She didn’t have to wait much, the phone just rang once before the call connected and she heard Edelgard’s voice at the other end.

“Edelgard, hey. I think you need to come over to Deco.” Ingrid grabbed Dorothea’s elbow as she kept her phone in place with her shoulder.

“Ingrid. Is Dorothea there?” Her voice, despite being delivered through the device, had the unmistaken imprint of worry in it. Ingrid's grim expression darkened slightly.

Yes, she was more than sure now. Dorothea was dealing with something.

Or maybe not dealing with it, and that was the real problem.

“She is, and she’s wasted.” Her phone slid as the drunk brunette tilted forward, her balance completely thrown off by the alcohol running in her veins, clouding her eyes and mixing her thoughts. Ingrid pulled her closer, trying to use her right hip like extra support.

Dorothea was too close to the ground for her liking.

“We’ll be there.” There was a pause, Ingrid used it to get a better hold in Dorothea and accommodate her phone in her ear. She wasn’t one to pry into anybody’s business, even less if it were her friends. Yet she was curious, she hadn’t seen Dorothea like this in years. so many years, before her first presentation maybe when they used to hit cheap bars and drink beer until the morning arrived. even before they were together many years ago.

Those were years Ingrid had left behind and, she had thought, Dorothea too.

“I have her. Don’t worry.” It was true, Dorothea had managed, somehow, to regain her vertical and was mumbling something about her lies lying bare. That made no sense to her and she wasn’t going to be the one trying to puzzle it together.

“I know. We’re on our way… just…” Ingrid waited. A second, maybe two, she could hear Constance and Byleth’s voices in the background, enough as to tell them apart but not to understand what they were saying. “Take care of her, please.”. That was an easy request, Dorothea was her friend and she would watch over her until her girlfriends arrived.

Edelgard disconnected the call before she could answer. Ingrid took her phone and shoved it back into her pocket. Both hands free now to help the songstress as she tried to sing an opera to the bystanders that passed through. Ingrid sighed. Fresh air wasn’t helping Dorothea and she doubted could keep her straight up for much longer. She hung her wasted friend by the elbow to her neck, walking them inside for a free table and maybe some water to wait for the girls.

She had forgotten to tell the girls she had paid for their table.

It hadn’t been a cheap one.

* * *

The trio piled into Edelgard’s car as frantic energy snapped at their heels. The car doors slammed shut and the engine roared to life. Edelgard screeched the car out of the lot and sped down the local streets onto the highway, nervously tapping against the steering wheel, her knuckles flexed white. 

Byleth reached across the console and rubbed soothing circles on Edelgard’s shoulders, trying to melt the tension away.

“She’s fine. We can trust Ingrid to watch over her,” Byleth reassured, although sounding like she was trying to convince herself. They were all worried, the tension like a dense fog in the car as the street lights flickered over the windows.

“I knew I should’ve asked her what was wrong, I just didn’t want to push her,” Edelgard said tensely. “All this time and I didn’t…”

“We all could have communicated a little better, it isn’t just your fault, love,” Constance replied, anxiously looking out the window for the bar to come into view. “We can do better now.”

Edelgard let out a long drawn out sigh and nodded. She glanced at Constance in the rearview mirror, Byleth at her side, and then the empty space in the backseat that reflected the same one in her heart. She wanted things to be better, more than anything else in the world right now. 

The bar came into view, the black and white glowing sign shimmered lively in the night. Before the car was barely parked, the girls flung open the doors and crossed the street. The bouncer immediately recognized the three and nudged his head towards the entrance. Grateful smiles passed their lips for a split second and then they were inside, the music rattled the walls in a faraway room as they scanned the crowd for anything remotely familiar. 

“Over there,” Byleth pointed out. Edelgard and Constance followed her direction to the corner in the room where Ingrid was barely keeping the drunk brunette upright. Ingrid spotted them from afar and waved at them before she caught Dorothea from falling once again.

The girls shuffled through the crowd as Byleth broke through the swarm first. Ingrid eased Dorothea into Byleth’s arms as she firmly held the brunette, Dorothea’s head lazily settled in the crook of her neck. 

“Hey, sugar,” Byleth whispered in her ear as she sagged in relief, Edelgard and Constance feeling the exact same. 

“Dearest, are you okay?” Constance asked softly, a gentle hand curving around her rosy cheek. Dorothea’s eyes were glazed and barely sparked with recognition of the change in her surroundings as she swayed on her feet.

“I’ll be more than okay if gorgeous ladies like yourselves buy me another drink!” Dorothea chirped, reaching for the glass on the nearby table.

“Oh no you don’t,” Edelgard cut in, as she swept the cup right from Dorothea’s reach and placed it on the opposite end. Dorothea’s adorable pout would normally make her heart flutter but combined with her sad, sad emerald eyes, it only made it ache. Edelgard turned to Ingrid then as Byleth and Constance wrapped Dorothea’s arms around their shoulders. She could hear the slurred mumbles of “where are we going? I don’t want to go yet!”. The duo struggled to quell her flailing limbs.

“Thank you for taking care of her, Ingrid,” Edelgard said. “I don’t know what we would’ve done if she had gotten hurt…”

Ingrid rubbed at the back of her neck and nodded, her weight shifting from foot to foot. “Of course. Get back safely, yeah?”

Edelgard nodded and turned back to her lovers, Dorothea temporarily being less combative. With a trick of the light, Edelgard spotted the bruise that formed on Dorothea’s forehead and the faint track of tears that blurred her mascara. She brushed the bruise gently with her thumb before sliding her fingers into the curtains of her wild hair. 

“I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” Edelgard apologized, a familiar burn of tears behind her eyes. She didn’t let them fall. 

“Whatever for, cutieeeee?” Dorothea giggled, head tilting in childlike wonder.

Edelgard puffed a humorless laugh and shook her head with a soft “never mind”.

Byleth dropped a kiss on the crown of Dorothea’s head, Constance on her fingertips, and finally Edelgard on her cheek. They all lingered for a moment as they took in just a moment of calm at Dorothea being in one piece, safe.

“Let’s go home.”

* * *

It was harder than they had thought to actually make Dorothea manage the trip from the car to the apartment, somehow even worse than it had been to take her out of the bar to begin with. Somehow she started tripping a bit more the moment they left the vehicle and got to the elevator, to the point that Constance had to support her back while Byleth and Edelgard held each of her hands. The fact that the path from the garage to the lift was badly lit didn’t help matters, as it made for a more hazardous zone if anything. 

What was worse, that made the three want to laugh a bit more than they actually should, was the fact that more than often, Dorothea would get to pry her hands away from the other two and attempt to… make a move at all of them, at the same time. 

“Oh dearies, you are so stuwning townight,” the actress slurred and something, maybe the sound of her own voice or the words themselves, were enough to make her laugh. And although they had indeed missed that, as it had been a while since the last time the woman had chuckled as such, they couldn’t help but feel a painful pang of guilt constricting their chest at that.

“Could I have your numbwe? Or your numbews?” she asked the moment the four were somehow able to step inside the elevator, a feat since Dorothea had almost gotten her right leg stuck outside, as she almost stumbled again. 

“You already have them, Sugar. All of them,” Byleth deadpanned, petting her arm in an affectionate way. Only to regret the motion one second later, as Dorothea grabbed her hand and petted it, almost affectionately if it weren’t for the alcohol. 

“Oh my so… what have I done to desserve someone as pretty as you?” She slurred again, caressing Byleth’s hand, then moving on to her arm and forearm. Only to stop a second later and make a surprised face, widen her eyes and turn sideways to glance at the other two. “You’re so pweeeeetty too, Sugar Cube.” She placed a hand on Constance’s face and squeezed her cheek, a bit more sloppy tand her usual gentle, firm touch. “And you, sooo beautifow.” She eventually got to Edelgard and petted her shoulders, slowly (or maybe it was something that should be slow, but was clumsy instead) going to the side of her neck.

“Thank you, sweetheart,” the prosecutor answered, one hand trying to delicately take her lover’s away from her body while the other was fumbling with her purse, attempting to grab her key from the depths. “We’ll make sure you rest now.”

“Yes, you… you have been through a lot, haven’t you?” Constance whispered while opening the door, a bit unsure about what to think of the entire situation. While it had been hard to get home in general, she knew something deep and serious had spurned that course of action. One that would need to be discussed, of course. And if there was something she had wanted to do from the beginning, it was to have a talk with the other three. 

“Mhmmmmm but enough about it, you’re three cute ladies and all. Can’t miss a one in a lifetime chance like that.” As if they had a mind of their own, Dorothea’s hands flew to her partners before they had even managed to get into the apartment. 

“Sweetheart…” Edelgard protested, cheeks growing warm since she had been right in the line of fire and got a palm to her chest of all places. The position she was in, almost being pinned to the wall by a still staggering Dorothea, made the other two stop and stare at her for a few seconds, giggling, and unsure of what to do. “Well, help me out?” She asked, a bit annoyed and at the same time careful to not edge away from their drunken partner. 

“There, there, no need for any of you to be left out when I do have two hands and a mouth,” The actress said, sensed Edelgard’s unease and was more than happy to practically launch herself at Byleth with a giggle. “You though…” Her hands yet again went to Byleth’s chest, fondling a bit softer than before, yet still completely unlike her caresses. “Like no offense, Edie, but she’s also...”

On and on it went, with Byleth, Constance and Edelgard doing their best to coax Dorothea into their room (a journey which was stopped every two seconds by her trying to grab hold of them), then finally to lie down in their enormous bed. By that point, of course they were all pulled into it, falling into a somewhat familiar arrangement but in a very unfamiliar setting. The weight of something foreboding and heavy, which had been going unspoken for too long, floating around them in a stifling way.

A way that even Dorothea could sense, since all of a sudden her earlier playfulness was replaced by tears, sobbing and half incomprehensible words muttered through a drunken stupor. As she settled on their embrace, laying her head on Byleth’s shoulder, they were able to make out some of her sentences and laments, something that sounded an awfully lot like a forlorn mixture of apologizing and self-deprecation. The vision was not softened at all whenever she tried going back to that previous boldness and assaulted her partners with open-mouthed kisses, compliments and squeezes.

Words they hadn’t expected to hear, as well as tears the three of them had grown unused to seeing, made their way through sobs that took a while to subside, no matter how much they soothed her with caresses and comforting whispers. Their words and touches somewhat foreign to a numb Dorothea, even as she eventually calmed down and drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

Byleth was the first to wake up. Usually it was Edelgard, but last night's events had left her drained and Byleth carefully extricated herself from Dorothea’s grasp, substituting her own body with Edelgard’s. Both of them stirred slightly but didn’t wake up.

Byleth smiled fondly at them, reaching down with a gentle hand to brush a strand of hair out of Dorothea’s face. Dorothea looked so young, so vulnerable in that moment. For all her confidence and bravado, sometimes Byleth forgot that underneath it all, Dorothea was still a sensitive soul.

How long had everything weighed down on her? How many things were weighing down on her?

And the others, Byleth turned slightly to face Constance. There was a constant furrow in her brow when she was awake, and even asleep, there was a faint wrinkle. Byleth smoothed it over softly with a finger.

What was troubling her? What was so big that Constance couldn’t come to them with her issues?

Edelgard shifted in her sleep, drawing Byleth’s attention to her. Her usually impeccable hair was a tangled mess, white strands overlapping Dorothea’s chocolate ones on the sheets. She looked so at peace right now, asleep. 

When was the last time that Byleth had seen Edelgard like this? When did it all change?

Byleth didn’t have the answer to any of those questions.

But she could have coffee.

Oh. And eggs. Then she remembered she had put last night’s takeout in the fridge before everything happened. 

Would it be inappropriate to have leftover sushi for breakfast? 

Byleth had a full spread of food ready by the time the others rolled out of bed. Usually they wake up and drift out of bed one at a time, called by the growls of their stomach, but today, the other three appear in the kitchen all at once. They were all semi-dressed, in shorts and old t-shirts and robes. It was awkward, the way that they hovered near each other, wanting to touch each other but not quite touching.

The sight of them tore at Byleth’s heart, seeding fears and anxieties in the tears. Byleth stood tall, _she was going to marry them._

This was just another hurdle that they had to move past.

Cautiously, she reached for Dorothea’s hand, sighing in relief when Dorothea placed her hand in Byleth’s outstretched one. That was a good sign. Byleth leaded Dorothea to her seat at the table, pulling out the chair for her and everything. 

Byleth did the same for Edelgard and Constance, offering them her hand, never grabbing it without them reaching out for Byleth as well. She seated them around the table as they watched her in confusion and silence. 

At last, they are all seated, food served, coffee and tea poured.

“Is this sushi?” Dorothea asked confusedly, poking at a cucumber roll on her plate.

“Mhmm,” Byleth nodded, mouth already full with two pieces of nigiri. 

Dorothea ate it anyway, smiling at Byleth as she did. Byleth’s heart soared at the sight. Even the smallest things made Byleth feel like she was flying. They ate in relative silence, only the sounds of chewing and mugs being picked up and set down as their soundtrack. But eventually the food was finished, bellies were full, and caffeine had been imbibed. 

The dreaded event that they had silently been putting off could no longer be ignored. They had to talk.

“Bed?” Byleth suggested, draining the last of her coffee in one go. She didn’t know why, but she always felt safe in their bed, underneath a cocoon of blankets, her partners on all sides. It was a safe space, a space where they slept, where they rested, among other things. But they were vulnerable here every night, together. They could be that now.

The others agreed, padding after Byleth to their bed. Byleth flounced down onto the sheets, laying spread eagle across the center of it. She grinned goofily up them and beckoned for them to join her. 

There was some eye-rolling and fond sighing but before long, she had all three of her girls in her arms. 

“Are we going to talk about last night?” Byleth murmured into the crown of Dorothea’s head. She could feel Dorothea shudder against her side. 

“I’m sorry.” Dorothea’s voice is muffled, face pressed against Byleth’s shirt. “I didn’t know you had dinner plans for us. I should have asked before I ran off.”

“Creampuff, I’m not mad at you. I don’t think any of us are.” Byleth tilted her head slightly to look over at the other two.

“She’s right, darling,” Constance snuggled closer and pulled Dorothea slightly across Byleth so that Dorothea was laying on top of Byleth now, Edelgard and Constance on either side of her.

“You’ve been kind of…” Edelgard paused, trying to pick her next words carefully. “... stressed. Sleeping a lot. We just want to make sure you’re okay.”

“Honestly?” Dorothea asked.

“Yes please. This is a safe zone. No judgement here. We just want to help and we can’t help if we don’t know.” Byleth shrugged, the movement was slightly awkward under all these other bodies.

Dorothea bit her lip, unsure as to how to start. When she started talking she wouldn’t be able to stop. When she let them know what was going through her mind, she wouldn’t be able to take back the words she had used.

And yet, she was so very tired of pretending.

Feeling the warmth of her lovers around her, she let her eyes fixed at some point of the wall and her words run free. She let herself go, hoping that they would be there to catch her.

“I haven’t just been unlucky. I haven’t been up to the right expectations.” Dorothea hugged herself, feeling exposed and lonely, despite being surrounded by those who she loved. “It isn’t that I had a bad play or a bad night. I’ve had a bad season. Months upon months in which I’ve been only a nuisance to all of you.” It hurt to say it. It hurt to let it out in the open, the first time she put into words what her thoughts had raced and hammered and screamed at her with no mercy for so long. “I’m just not good enough… and if it hadn’t been for you I would’ve been back again in the streets, trying to make a life for my own barely scraping by.”

A tear was bold enough to make its way through her cheek. Dorothea found that she had no strength in her to stop it.

“I’m not who I thought I was. I’m not who I’d like to be… I’m not the talented, captivating songstress that captured Garreg Mach. I’m just Dorothea Arnault… and I’m not good enough to be yours…”

Bitter words, sour thoughts. The aftertaste in her tongue left her numb and empty.

She was empty, there wasn’t anything she could offer.

“I’m sorry I left yesterday. I’m sorry I pretended to be something I’m not.” She knew that Constance wanted to reach out to her, from the corner of her eye she could see her conflicted expression as well as Edelgard’s perplexing features. She couldn’t bear to look at them. If she would, she would break and would never be finished saying what she had to say. “I’m truly sorry. But I’m not the talented songstress I thought I could be. And you… you deserve something better than me.”

The truth made her heart heavy, her hands tremble, her eyes tearful.

The truth made her weak and vulnerable.

Dorothea wanted to be hugged and didn’t feel worthy of a hug. She hugged herself, finding no more words in her mind to continue. her heart was the only noise her racing mind could tell apart.

Her head snapped when she felt Byleth’s warm, strong hands in hers. She looked up and all she could see through her eyes blurred by tears were those kind, wide, gorgeous blue eyes looking at her.

“You don’t need to be anything for us, Creampuff. We don’t need you to be anything but yourself.” Their fingers intertwined, her sobs threatening to seize her throat again. Dorothea breathed in deep and looked for solace and strength in that gentle touch.

“You’re Dorothea Arnault, dearest…” Constance got closer to her, her kind hand in her shoulder, barely squeezing, enough for Dorothea to lean into her and just let herself be comforted by her presence. “You are what we want, there isn’t anything you do that makes you love you more than just being you…” Dorothea heard Constance’s heart throbbing in her chest, she felt her voice reverberating through her body to hers.

She bit her lip and, for the first time in months, she felt peace in the hollow that was her chest, amidst the raging maelstrom of her thoughts.

Her green eyes, however, looked up, from her joined hands with Byleth, from her comfortable place in Constance’s shoulder, looking for the missing link. The piece that would make them all four and whole again.

Edelgard, however, didn’t come closer when they locked eyes. Her beautiful lilac sight was ashamed and scared, averting her eyes as soon as she saw her.

“Baby girl?” She called. Edelgard didn’t answer. Byleth let go of one of her hands and stretched out for her, seeking her touch in a way to bring her closer.

She cleared her throat and, suddenly, they knew she needed her space too.

Byleth’s smile was a patient, loving one. Yet her thoughts were heavy thinking how much time she had let this go by, how much her lovers were hurting and she was unaware of it.

“Dumpling? What is it?”

“I just… I’ve grown up thinking I should live my life a certain way. I thought I was always destined to be a prosecutor. And for a time, it was okay - I was putting criminals in jail and I truly thought I was making the world better but... “ Edelgard paused, the hem of her shirt being wrung between her fidgeting fingertips. “But I met all of you and you told me I was kind and worthy of being loved. I was more kind and I’ve never been so happy. But when that girl said those things about me in front of you all… for so long, I thought she was right. I thought I was no better than the vile tactics that my Uncle used to get his goddess-forsaken verdict.”

“El, we talked about this, that girl didn’t have any right to-”

“Please! Just-,” Edelgard cut in, then swallowed as she caught her loud tone. She continued to stare at her hands, head hung in shame. Tears dropped onto the back of her hands. “I was scared, okay? It felt like I was losing my grip and we weren’t there to catch one another. I thought I was losing everything. Dorothea could’ve gotten hurt tonight if it weren’t for Ingrid. I should’ve been better, damn it, I should’ve _known_ better. What’s the point of putting people away and protecting society if I can’t protect the women I’m in love with?”

She had been raised her entire life to pick up on the signs, pick up on the lies, and to see through the veils of lies and twisted stories. To a point, it helped her - she knew all this time that something was wrong. But there was little use for knowing without action and she blamed herself for that. 

She should’ve held onto Byleth a little tighter before she would reach the door.

She should’ve sat by Constance’s side a little longer among her mess of papers to bring her a sense of calm.

She should’ve kissed Dorothea a little harder to show her she was never alone.

Protecting the world would never matter if she couldn't have them. 

And now, she felt as though she was the worst thing for them. But Goddess, she didn’t want to let them go.

“Edelgard,” Byleth called, and it was weird for her to use her name instead of her pet name. Edelgard looked at her lovers. Their stretched hands, their soft smiles. An invitation was written in each of them.

In a silent embrace, she let herself be engulfed by their love and found solace in their warmth. Surrounded by them, she felt like a piece of herself was back in place. A part of her she had lost among cases, suspects, countless hours of looking for the right proof, chasing after a verdict as her mentor had taught her instead of following her heart.

She found herself whole in their embrace.

Edelgard realized she didn’t need to let go of them. She’d never need to because they were not going to let her go either.

“If anything, it is me who needs to rethink their way of life…” Constance’s voice was soft, a murmur that barely made it out of her lips. She swallowed, three sets of eyes were on her now- a gentle, loving encouragement that coaxed her into being brave.

Maybe she couldn’t be brave enough to face her family problems herself. But she could be brave for them.

“I do not remember where or when it all began, quite honestly,” Constance stated after a sigh, her voice barely over a whisper. That was enough for them to notice how so many things were off, in a sense. She was only that quiet when her mind was enveloped in its own dark, brooding thoughts which wanted to silence her. “But perhaps it was my stupidity to accept my family’s proposition. They would pay for all of my college tuition and expenses and in exchange I would have to marry - and of course, a rich suitor - at any point in the next decade.”

It was weird to start unveiling that. To tell the one mistake that had set her up for failure, in a way. That thing that had cast that shadow upon her mind, even when she had tried her best to keep that memory out of sight. As her partners nodded, a silent encouragement for her to go on, she did: “The thing is, ten years sound like a very long time and, as every foolish eighteen-year-old who just got into college, I was certain I would be well-off by the time that decade ran out. That I would have my own little fortune rivaling theirs, maybe. Lo and behold, here I am.” 

“It is not even that the University has not paid me enough, but that they have been threatening to cut down funds for all research that has not produced any results for the last year or so. And it does not seem to matter that I have been dealing with bacteria that apparently despise me. No matter what I do, how many calculations I run, how many trials and different combinations I make, nothing new happens. No breakthrough, no discovery, nothing that would justify their continuous support.”

By this time her voice was almost back to its normal pitch, tinged by anger as well as resentment. At herself, her parents, her job.

At the entire setting falling down around her, to say the least. “And I do not know what to do about this, this promise and the pressure at work, as well as… everything that had been going around with us in general.” Her voice wobbled, tears threatening to take over her eyes at that. “This distancing. I mean, look at how much has been kept secret, silent. How much _we_ have been ignoring.”

Constance didn’t regret her words, but she didn’t enjoy the way they weighed heavily not only upon her chest, but on them as a whole. Even the house looked darker, blearier after all that had finally been said. Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Shouldn’t they be feeling lighter? 

“I miss you. I have been missing this, us, more than anything else,” She added and watched as not only herself, but their surroundings, seemed to change with that little admission. “It would not matter if I never got any results to begin with, if I knew I would keep your support.”

“Cupcake, you do have our support,” Byleth interrupted, her face twisted in a grimace. “That is something that will never change.”

“Love, I don’t think your parents can actually hold you to your promise,” Edelgard said slowly, the tears were drying on her face. 

“What?” Constance looked up and over at Edelgard. 

“Did you sign any papers?” 

“No?”

“Do you care about maintaining a relationship with your parents?”

“No. All they have done is hurt me, trying to mould me into what they want me to be and never considering what I want. I do not care about them!”

“Then I don’t think they can do anything about it,” Edelgard reassured Constance, reaching over and patting her hand. “The worst they could do is probably cut you off monetarily and socially. But they can’t get their money back from you, they can’t force you to marry anyone.”

Constance gaped at Edelgard. 

“You didn’t sign a contract. It’s your word against theirs. And if you don’t care about making them mad and burning that bridge, they hold nothing over you.”

“You know what? Fuck them.” It sounded so strange to hear such a word come from Constance’s mouth but a giggle of joy burst out of Constance after it. The sound had never sounded sweeter. Constance threw herself further into the tangled mess of limbs and bodies of her partners, giggling happily. Her parents didn’t matter. They didn’t hold anything over her.

This promise that they had been threatening her with was worthless.

Constance felt free.

“Fuck them!” Constance declared again, laughing. She was going to tell her parents exactly that later.

They rejoiced with her for several moments until finally Constance's stomach hurt from laughing, and tears of joy were running down her face. As the laughter died down, they all lay there for several moments just relishing in the presence of each other and the tension that had been lifted off of their shoulders.

“Hey, honey?” Dorothea broke the silence.

“Mhmm?” Byleth looked over at Dorothea. She was dozing, content to bask in the warmth and affection of her girlfriends after a big breakfast and some heavy emotional lifting.

“Are you doing okay as well?”

“Yeah?” Byleth nuzzled the side of Dorothea’s head with a soft sigh.

“You’ve just been kind of distant for the last little while.” Edelgard wrapped both her arms around both Byleth and Dorothea’s midsections and found one of Constance’s hands on the other side, intertwining their fingers together.

“Oh. Have I? I’m sorry.” Byleth frowned. There had been a lot on her mind as of late.

“You want to tell us what’s going on in that big brain of yours?” Constance rested her head in Byleth’s shoulder, an intriguing smile in her lips.

Byleth pouted. “It’s not that big.” 

“It’s big enough for you to get lost in it,” Edelgard rebutted with a laugh. “Now spill.”

“Okay, okay,” Byleth relented. “You know that job that I applied for a while ago?”

“The one in Derdriu?” Edelgard remembered Byleth mentioning it a few times in the past, but nothing ever seemed to come with it.

“They emailed me a while ago, offering me the job.” 

“That’s great Byleth!” Dorothea exclaimed. “I remember you were so interested in the position.”

“This is a big opportunity.” Constance nodded her agreement. “I think you would really thrive over there.”

“I haven’t made up my mind yet,” Byleth confessed. “I was really torn on what to do and I didn’t want to make any major decisions without talking it over with everyone first. I don’t want to go anywhere if it meant losing any one of you three. I’m perfectly happy here, if you’re all here. I could go anywhere if it meant staying by your sides. And I’m sorry that I’ve been so lost in my head that I hadn’t noticed that you were hurting, or stressed, or feeling down on yourself. I promise you that I will spend the rest of my life showing you how important you all are to me, and how much I love you all.”

“Byleth,” Dorothea said in a teasing tone. “This sounds an awful lot like you’re proposing to us.”

“Oh. Does it?” Byleth stared at them blankly. This was not how she originally planned for this to happen but somehow, lying in bed with her girls cuddled up to her, this moment just felt right.

“I’m joking,” Dorothea laughed. Her laughter turned into a shriek of surprise as Byleth suddenly got up, upending the group with her superior strength.

The three of them were stunned momentarily as their worlds were turned upside down as Byleth leapt from the bed and hurried to where she had left her jacket draped over the chair of the vanity. The long rectangular ring box was still in its inner pocket. Byleth pulled the long velvet black box out.

Turning, she faced her girlfriends, who were pulling themselves together and sitting up in various positions on the bed.

“Byleth what-”

“Look, this wasn’t my original plan. But I just want you all to know that I really love you all and there is honestly nothing more that I want than to marry you,” Byleth told them very seriously, and dropped to one knee beside the bed. The ring box swung open to reveal three gleaming silver rings with flowers made of different coloured gemstones. They were perfect replicas of the ring on the necklace around Byleth’s neck.

Collectively, the girls gasped in shock and surprise. None of them were expecting this.

“Constance, Dorothea, and Edelgard. Will you marry me?” 

The room devolved into shrieks of joy and surprise as Edelgard was the first one to move, nearly tackling Byleth to the floor as she leapt forward to embrace Byleth. Dorothea and Constance piled on, actually knocking Byleth and Edelgard to the floor with their combined weight.

“How long have you been planning this!” Dorothea had managed to hug them all at once, as her words left her in a shriek that she couldn’t control.

“I knew you did not actually lose your ring,” Constance huffed. “This is what you were up to!”

“Is that a yes?” Byleth asked, her voice muffled under the pile of bodies that now lay on top of her.

“Oh my goddess, yes!” Dorothea rolled off of Byleth just enough to look her in the eyes. “One thousand times yes.”

“I thought it was very clear from our reactions that we were saying yes,” Constance teased.

“I don’t know. I still haven’t decided on my answer yet.”

“Edie!” Dorothea exclaimed indignantly.

“I’m joking, I’m joking. Of course I’m saying yes,” Edelgard laughed.

Byleth nearly dropped the rings with how much her hands were shaking with joy but she managed to slide each ring onto the correct hand, onto the correct finger. It filled her with such happiness to see her girls wearing the rings. 

“For the last few months, this is all I’ve been thinking about. I just want to spend the rest of my life with you three. That’s all that matters to me. It doesn’t matter whether we stay here, or if we go to Derdriu, as long as I have all of you, I’ll go anywhere.”

“You know. I’ve been thinking, honey.”

“That’s dangerous, creampuff.” 

Dorothea swatted Byleth gently on the bicep. 

“I think you should take the job in Derdriu.” The other three looked at Dorothea in surprise. They hadn’t been expecting that sentence.

“I think that a change of scenery would be good for us. We’re all unhappy staying here at Garreg Mach. Derdriu would be a perfect opportunity for us to make something else, together. You already have a job lined up, why not take it? See where it leads us?” She said, and it was a proposition, an open invitation for them to think of something new.

To change into something new.

Constance beamed at the possibility. Derdriu, the city where new, young scientists were doing things she dreamed about. Free of the old ways and traditional approach of Garreg Mach. She had spent so many years working for them, following their methods, adapting her own style into their outdated bureaucracy and way of doing things instead of just seizing the moment and following her heart when it came to what she believed was right and how to conduct her research and present her results.

Derdriu could be a fresh start to all of it.

“I have heard about the new innovations in Derdriu and the academic horizon seems a bit… fresher if I dare to say.” She tried to be calm, but her lovers could see the excitement in her gestures and the sheer joy in her voice. 

Byleth smiled.

Of course it would be good for Constance.

“Derdriu is an open city, a new public to captivate and new scenarios to conquer... “ Dorothea knew how good Derdriu’s artists were. She had had the pleasure to work with them before and the honor to be a co-star with some of the brightest talents there.

Derdriu, it seemed so far away, but a city that greeted them with the ocean breeze and the openness of the sea before them could be interesting, to say the least.

It could mean a new start for her.

It could mean a new world to discover, instead of the same tired old faces that had deemed her unworthy of being on the stage after a bad play. She could be acting again. She could be singing again.

She could soar again doing what she loved, with the ones she loved.

“Edie, baby girl, we won’t need that many comforters in Derdriu, the city is warmer than Garreg Mach…” Dorothea winked at her and, Edelgard, without need to hear the rest, blushed. “I may oppose now that I think about it, I won’t get to massage you to help you ease the pain in your joints when it gets cold out…”

Yes, she was right at blushing. No matter how many years had passed, she was still vulnerable to Dorothea’s jests, as she was to Byleth’s actions and Constance’s grandiloquent speeches.

“I suppose Derdriu’s weather is similar to Enbarr’s…” She missed her hometown. Enbarr had been so far away. Yet there wasn’t anything that tied her to Garreg Mach other than memories, and nothing to return to Enbarr other than old traditions. Derdriu could be a new start. It could be a new career.

It could be her chance to chase her dreams and give her career a dramatic change.

She could be Edelgard von Hresvelg, the defense attorney, not the prosecutor. Her hand covered her mouth absently, as she thought about it. It had such a nice ring to it- it felt right.

Suddenly, Derdriu wasn’t a place, but a door for them to open and find something new and exciting. Maybe it was a risk, but everything in life that would make a difference, that would challenge them into something new, that would make them into something better, would always be a risk.

It was a risk they would need to take.

Edelgard smiled and Byleth was there, hugging them, using her strong arms to keep all of them close.

Derdriu was a door to open.

They would reach out to it, the four of them together. Toward a future that was yet to be written, but that they wouldn’t need to face alone.

Never alone.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! We are the Chaos Squad from the Fodlan Olympics! 
> 
> Welcome to our polypower fic dedicated to our lovely @writingwithmolls for her 20th birthday! Show her some love!
> 
> Happy Birthday, honey! We love you! I hope your day is as lovely as you are. Thank you for being my friend and always giving me the encouragement I need to love writing and keep at it. I’m so, so proud of you for everything you do. Please take all of my money when you’re published and sign “Two Hands Queen Molls”. -edelgard_eiser / Moni
> 
> Hey Molls dear! Happy birthday! I hope you like this little something we prepared for you! We love you and appreciate you! I'm so thankful for having you in my life! Such a talented and kind person, I wish you the happiest of days and I can't wait to see more of you in the world! We need it. Kuro_Ookami / KR
> 
> Heeeeeey Molls! Happy birthday to you! Yep, this isn't a dream, we really did this hehehe. You deserve every chaotic word and floofy part (angst is good but only love today, ok? No corpses in the floof house). You're an amazing, loving, kind person that I'm really thankful for meeting. It makes me happy to be able to talk to you every single day. Be yourself always and know that we love you to the end of this world and back! Loads of love today and always. IT IS IIII, LinaLuthor
> 
> Smollllllllllls. You amazing, wonderful, absolutely brilliant, best bean!!! I’m so glad to have met you through this wild project and have you a part of this lil ridiculous group that has seemingly chaotically formed on its own! Being able to send ridiculous memes and roast you for your reading skills is just *chefs kiss* Also you’ve imparted some very important advice on my life so I vow to keep on killing my darlings for as long as I write. ENJOY THE FIC U NERD <3- cafe_au_late/ Reun


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